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Monday, February 11, 2013

Matrilineal Monday - Louann Lightner

Louann Lightner is a 3rd great grandparent through my father's paternal side. It is also through Louann that I can claim my ancestry from the Mayflower. The research on Louann was done by my great-grandmother, Ruth Butler Burnett, whose work compiles the bulk of this line. I also received a wealth of information from my second great-grand uncle, Adrian Lightner Johnston, who wrote a book on this line available in the Library of Congress.

I say that I have a wealth of information on Louann Lightner, but all I really have is the basic facts: birth, children, where she lived and death.

Louann was born October 24, 1844 in Russiaville, Indiana, a small city not far from Kokomo, Indiana. She was the third of six known children to Daniel D. Lightner and Polly Seward.

Daniel was a state senator for Howard County, Indiana during the Civil War and was an avid abolitionist, despite having been born in Virginia, a slave state. There is enough information about Daniel to warrant his own post.﻿

Louann married Charles O. Johnston in Howard County, Indiana on April 22, 1863.

Soon after, the couple moved to Hobart, Lake County, Indiana where they lived until their deaths.

Louann Lightner Johnston died August 5, 1921 in Hobart, Lake County, Indiana. She is buried in Hobart Cemetery, Hobart, Indiana.

I wish that I knew more about who Louann was, outside of the bare facts of her life. To date I have found nothing, but I'm determined to keep looking.

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Based on the above information I have the following "due-outs" for Louann:

1. Find her obituary.
2. Request a photo of her headstone through Findagrave.com

3. Search for her in the Hobart, Indiana newspaper to find out more about who she was.

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents
more in-depth. Louann is #16 on my list.﻿